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User blog:Beds/Stitchwork and Summer Winds
A cool breeze passed over Gysella, but she took no notice of it. She was too invested into her stitchwork to notice the summer breeze. This current stitching was a nightmare, and was incredibly tempted to refuse the work, but she so desired the silver coins from the travelling woman who had ordered it. Her father, Lord Denys Staunton, had stopped funding her stitchwork when she was seven-and-ten, so it fell upon Gysella herself to fund her own needs by purchasing new needles and fabrics with her own coin. And when that had run out, she turned to creating outfits for travellers who came to Rook's Rest for the great markets or the smallfolk of the little town themselves. Her father did not support her interest in the art of stitchwork, but he couldn't do anything more to stop her. She was a woman grown, a daughter of House Staunton, and his only daughter. Gysella was sitting alone in the gardens of the castle. Her two handmaidens had followed her like loyal dogs when she had told them she was going to spend some time alone in the castle gardens. Luckily, however, they were especially loyal when it came to following her orders, and so they stood in the shaded entrance that Gysella had walked through many a times. The two girls were not fond of each other. Cersei was the baseborn daughter of the Master of Horse, Ser Patrick. Darla was from the Free Cities, and often spoke of her old life, telling Gysella many tales that caused Cersei great discomfort. Gysella was used to their disagreements by now, and had come to the conclusion that the pair would never be friends, but at least they were willing to serve alongside one another. She had hoped to see her brother, Jon, out in the gardens. He was her oldest brother, and was the next Staunton to inherit Rook's Rest. She knew it was wrong to think that Jon would be out and about. Ever since his marriage to "Perfect Joanna", Jon had spent most of his free time with their lord father. Her other two brothers, both younger than her, were away now, serving other Houses local to the Crownlands. Gysella had been lonely, as of late. Loneliness makes a woman weak, daughter, her lady mother's words rang through her head, causing her to shiver. Or maybe it was the wind? Summers in Westeros were known to have some delicate winds, especially in the Crownlands. As the summer winds were picking up, Gysella decided to gather her stitchwork and needles, and would return back to her chambers to continue her work. ---- She had hoped to return to her chambers as soon as she possibly could, but when she heard Joanna's voice bouncing off the walls of the castle, coming towards Gysella, she knew she could not escape bumping into her. She had thrust her stitchwork and needles into Cersei's arms, who accepted them immediately. Joanna was not only her good-sister, but was her own cousin by her lord father's younger sister. She was baseborn, coming to Rook's Rest as a Waters, but upon her arrival, she became a Staunton. In the beginning of the marriage arrangements, it was only Lanna Staunton who was not pleased with her own son marrying a baseborn child, let alone his own cousin. But, Lord Denys was adamant, proclaiming that Joanna had his own sister's blood within her, making her a Staunton, despite her bastardy. Gysella did not like her, and the feeling was definitely mutual. Even when they were children and they prayed together, Gysella would always be over-prayed by Joanna, who would out-sing her, and boast about her own prayers, and would point out that Gysella never spoke of her own prayers, making her out to be a fake prayer. Wouldn't you love to know what I pray for these days, dear cousin, Gysella thought, darkly. Joanna was soon standing in front of her, surrounded by her army of handmaidens and her own guards, all loyal to House Hayford, the House her lady aunt married into. Joanna grinned, baring her perfect white teeth, and was tugging at the perfect pink dress, which had been duplicated many times, or maybe it was the only dress she owned. Gysella bit back the humor, knowing full well that Joanna would not appreciate it. "Gysella, my dear cousin!" Joanna smelled of lemon water, breathing it onto Gysella as she spoke. She daren't take a step back, Joanna would take offense to that too. "Lady Joanna, a pleasure as always. Are you off out?" Gysella asked, hopefully. Joanna placed a hand to her chest and let out a heartfelt laugh. "Oh, no dear cousin. Your lady mother has invited a travelling minstrel into the gardens to share a few of his songs, and she has kindly invited me and my own along to see him too. I do wish your brother - my lord husband - was with us too." She added sadly, her lower lip turning into a pout. Gysella stopped herself from speaking rudely to her cousin. She knew for a fact that there was no love between her brother and baseborn cousin. Rook's Rest castle was very small, with there being less than thirty rooms in the castle. As such, their lovemaking could be heard from every part of the castle. Joanna's fake screams of pleasure were louder than Jon's grunts when he thrust himself into her. Gysella was a maiden, however, and was not aware that Joanna was faking until Darla had pointed it out to her. It only made Gysella dislike her cousin even more. "Well, I wish you a great time, dear cousin. If you excuse me, I have work to complete." "You call it work, dear cousin, but I call it a simple hobby", Joanna said the words sweetly, but Gysella could sense the poison in them all the same. She forced herself to look at her cousin, looking into her brown eyes that she had inherited from her father, whomever he might be. Her brown eyes against Gysella's soft green eyes. With luck, her nephews would inherit their father's eyes. Joanna's eyes were on Cersei, who would most likely shy away at her look. If Joanna's men and army of handmaidens found their lady's jape funny, they didn't show it. They knew better not to insult the daughter of Lord Staunton to her face. It doesn't stop them from speaking about me in their cups, she thought bitterly. Gysella smiled politely. "It is a shame, Lady Joanna, that you do not have a - to use your own words - simple hobby, like me. That way you would be occupied when my brother is with my lord father." She spoke calmly, and bravely. Gysella was the only one who could speak words that could drive her cousin to fear. Apart from her own mother, of course. Joanna's nose flared with anger, and before she could retort, one of Joanna's knights bowed his head. "Maester." He spoke curtly. Maester Gudd had appeared out of nowhere, either that or Gysella had been too invested in aggravating her cousin to realise that he had walked up to them. Both cousins had now realised their forgotten manners, and nodded curtly to the Maester. He was old, and greying. He had seen more than four-and-fifty years, and had served as the Maester of House Staunton for more than thirty of those years. Lord Staunton considered him a great advisor, alongside a true friend. "Ser Simeon, a pleasure as always. Excuse the intrusion my ladies, but I was sent by Lord Denys to escort Lady Gysella to his office quarters", Maester Gudd had a solemn voice, and was commonly known as the "Wisdom Whisperer", for every word he spoke to a friend was lined with wisdom. Gysella couldn't have been more happier to be rid of her cousin's company, Joanna most likely felt the same. "Very well, Maester. Lady Joanna, if you excuse me, my father awaits. Come Cersei, Darla." And with that, Gysella was rid of her cousin, her army of handmaidens and her Hayford knights. She couldn't be more thrilled to be by Maester Gudd's side. WORD COUNT: 1,369 words Notes of the chapter *A quick introduction to Gysella of House Staunton, giving us an insight to her life as the only daughter of a noble lord. *She has a cousin who is baseborn and is married to her eldest brother. It is clear that the pair mislike each other greatly. *Gysella has a great interest in stitchwork, and was forced to (pre-chapter) fund her own materials by taking on requests from travellers and smallfolk. Characters appeared/mentioned #Gysella Staunton #Joanna Staunton #Ser Simeon #Cersei Waters #Darla #Maester Gudd #Denys Staunton (mentioned) #Lanna Staunton (mentioned) #Jon Staunton (mentioned) #Myranda Hayford (mentioned) Category:Blog posts Category:Gysella blogs